It was the result that many expected, but given the circumstances, the Buffalo Sabres’ 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning leaves a sour taste. In the second half of a back-to-back, the Sabres certainly looked like a fatigued squad, managing to produce only five shots on goal in the third period.
Tampa Bay got the scoring started less than 30 seconds into the opening frame when Brayden Point notched his 29th of the season. Tyler Johnson won the draw in the Sabres’ zone and following a nifty passing sequence by the Lightning forwards on Linus Ullmark’s right side, point was able to hammer it past a confused Macro Scandella, unopposed.